Terror ride as bus driver cuddled

Canoodling with his girlfriend as he drove at high speed, a long-haul bus driver took his passengers on a nightmare ride on the N2 highway.
The Translux bus driver allegedly swerved dangerously across the road and broke the speed limit several times as his girlfriend fondled, kissed and tickled him.
Translux management has suspended the driver and co-driver while the terrifying flirtation with death is investigated.
Fearing for their lives, passengers aboard the bus travelling from East London to Cape Town early yesterday made desperate cellphone calls to the bus company's helpline, family, friends and police.
Graaff-Reinet police intercepted the bus at a service station in the town - but allowed it to continue on its way after taking statements from passengers.
Vicky Jackson of Wynberg said it was a "trip from hell" for her and her six-year-old son Marc. They were relieved to have reached Cape Town safely.
"I was sitting close to the driver with my son, who was forced to watch the driver being fondled be his girlfriend," Jackson said.
"He was doing some low flying (speeding) which activated the speed alarm continuously.
"As the woman kissed him and tickled him and took his concentration off the road, he swerved dangerously across the road several times, but he seemingly enjoyed the cavort and did "And when I confronted him about his behaviour and reckless driving he hurled abuse at me, using the f-word," Jackson said.
The driver had threatened to throw her off the bus if she continued to question his driving. But other passengers backed her up and told the driver they would all get off if he forced her off the bus.
Phinidile Kani of Cradock said the driver had been playing with their lives.
"Translux already had a bad accident track record and now we know where it comes from," she said.
Mzikayise Mongo, also from Cradock, said the driver had treated them like dirt.
"The co-driver was sleeping across seats and blocking the aisle, which was a hazard if we had an emergency, and when we confronted the driver he said he was overtired after being forced to work double shifts.
"We demanded a relief driver from the company management when we eventually got through to an operator on their helpline but we continued with the same drivers," she said.

Translux management should use the services of Drive Report, an independent company that monitors driver behaviour. Any improper behaviour of the driver can be reported to a 24-hour call centre and the operations manager gets an SMS message as soon as a serious call has been logged. I helped Drive Report write their call centre software, and have heard some amazing stories of driver behaviour.

Original story: Cape Argus - Terror ride as driver cuddled